Erlenbach is a small town (population 16,093) in the German state
of Rheinland- Pfalz near the town of Dahn. Erlenbach is located
northwest of Karlsruhe - max. 1 hour by car. The biggest town closest
to Lauterschwan is Bad Bergzabern.

The cemetery is well maintained and in excellent condition. The
eldest of the graves in the cemetery dates from 1918 (with the
exception of two historical gravestones - Johannes Stephan and
Franz Joseph Dahm).

The re-use of grave plots in Germany is very common. You or your
family rent the plot for a period of 20 to 25 years (the time
period varies from state to state). When this time period is up,
church or civil authorities approach your family or next of kin
concerning a rental renewal. If you have no next of kin, they
can't be found or your relatives elect not to renew the rental,
the plot is reallocated and re-used.

The inscription "Zum Gedenken" (In memory of) on gravestones indicates,
in general, that the body of the individual in question is not
actually buried in the grave. In the cases of soldiers, the body
was either never recovered or it was buried somewhere near the
place where he was killed.

On many gravestones, an "Eisernes Kreuz" (German Iron Cross) -
with or without the date of death - is used to show that the individual
was a soldier either killed in action (gef. = gefallen) or missing
in action (verm. = vermisst).

Contains all visual burials from tombstone inscriptions, completed
by myself and Andreas Driess in September 2005. For further information,
in German or English please contact me.